National News

WASHINGTON — Average U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week, with the benchmark 30-year loan rate reaching a new low for the year. The rates’ historically low levels could be a boon to potential homebuyers. Mortgage company Freddie Mac says ...

ATLANTA — A struggling underground shopping complex in downtown Atlanta has been sold to a South Carolina real estate company and is slated to be redeveloped into a mixed residential and commercial center. WRS Inc. is buying Underground Atlanta for $25.8 ...

WASHINGTON — Banks, retailers, commuters and teachers will keep their temporary tax breaks for another year after Congress gave final approval Tuesday to a massive tax package affecting millions of businesses and individuals. The last-minute bill would extend the expired ...

WASHINGTON — Construction of new homes fell slightly in November, reflecting weakness in construction of single-family homes. Builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million homes and apartments last month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That ...

WASHINGTON — The monitor overseeing a national mortgage settlement says an internal review of its compliance conducted by Ocwen Financial Corp., one of the biggest U.S. servicers of home loans, may not have provided accurate accounting. Joseph Smith, who is ...

WASHINGTON — A resurgent U.S. economy has emerged from a long struggle with high unemployment and weak growth. And the Federal Reserve seems poised to recognize the sustained improvement. In a statement it will issue after a policy meeting ends ...

WASHINGTON — A Michigan boot-maker, potato farmers and more than 1,200 contractors that supply parts for a next-generation fighter plane are among the many winners in the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress. Supporters of manufacturers added a ...

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. is providing an update on renovating one of the city’s most iconic parks, Colonial Lake. Riley meets with reporters on Monday to discuss the $5 million makeover of the lake that ...

WASHINGTON — It’s the new career trade-off: Around the country, areas with the strongest job markets increasingly have some of the costliest homes. And areas with the most affordable homes lack a solid base of middle class jobs that attract workers. ...

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are proposing that the eight biggest U.S. banks be required to further increase the amount of capital they set aside to cushion against unexpected losses. The proposed requirements are aimed at lessening the chances of future ...